Catalysis of synthetic chemical reactions is largely broken down into two broad classes: heterogeneous and homogeneous. Heterogeneous catalysis is where the catalytic material does not dissolve in the reaction medium and the reaction takes place on the surface of a suspended inert solid or packed bed known as a catalyst support. Homogeneous catalysis is where the active catalyst species freely dissolves in the reaction solvent. The latter type of catalysis presents a variety of reaction product purification difficulties as well in separating the homogenous catalyst after completion of the reaction such that the catalyst can be recovered and reused. In some cases, even after extensive purification is performed on the reaction product, traces of a homogenous catalyst may remain, which in some cases may lead to changes in properties of the reaction products that may be detrimental to the desired function of the reaction product. In some instances, the presence of residual amounts of a homogenous catalyst may also hinder characterization of a reaction product. Traditional heterogeneous catalysts may also pose problems. In particular, the reaction substrates and subsequent reaction products may adhere to the catalyst support resulting in lower reaction yields.
Accordingly, more and better ways of catalyzing synthetic chemical reactions that combine the benefits of heterogeneous and homogenous catalysts but lacking their disadvantages are desirable.